What 2 Watch 4
The final week of the regular season sees the top of the standings gridlocked as UC Irvine (24-5, 15-3 BW) and UC San Diego (20-8, 15-3 BW) eyeing a prime seed in the postseason. The defending champion Tritons end the year at home, facing two squads in the brackets: Cal State Fullerton (16-12, 12-6 BW) and UC Santa Barbara (20-8, 12-7 BW). The game for the Gauchos is their lone action on the week.
The Anteaters are coming off a rare road loss and back on the road to close the season at Cal Poly and at third-place UC Davis (21-8, 14-4 BW), the league’s fourth 20-win team of the season. The UCI/UCD contest has the potential to hold regular-season champion implications for both. The Aggies host Long Beach State on Thursday and open the week game back in the standings and are looking for favorable results to go their way.
Finally, red-hot Hawai’i (18-10, 12-6 BW), on a six-game winning streak, ends the year on the mainland at UC Riverside and Long Beach State looking to keep the momentum flowing.
Every Big West home contest appears on ESPN+ throughout the season. Check listings for specific game information.
The Big West in the Rankings
Three Big West schools are listed in the latest College Insider Women’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll, with UC Irvine occupying 24th and UC Davis and UC San Diego receiving votes in the latest poll.
Four teams and four players find themselves in the top 10 of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball statistical rankings. Some notables include:
• UC Irvine occupies sixth in free throw percentage (80.1) and free throws per game (16.90) and 10th in field goal percentage defense (35.3).
• Cal State Fullerton is second the country in steals per game (15.6), turnovers forced per game (26.11) and offensive rebounds (18.0); Titan Cristina Jones rates third in offensive rebounds (4.9) and fifth in steals average (3.81).
• UC Riverside’s Hannah Wickstrom puts up 23.6 points per game to lead The Big West and rate fifth nationally.
• UC Davis’ Megan Norris has recorded 18 double-doubles (10th), while collecting 13.0 rebounds per game (3rd) and a nation’s best 10.1 defensive boards.
Hoopin’ in Henderson - Bracket Watch
All but one place in the field of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Basketball Championship bracket is secured, and seven seeds are up for grabs. The final place must be decided, as will the regular-season champion. UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Davis are the three teams with the chance at the trophy with CSUN and Long Beach State battling for the No. 8 seed. Only one seed is known heading into the week: No 7 UC Riverside. Learn more about the Championship at bigwest.org/2026.
The top eight teams will converge in the four-day event from March 11-14, 2026 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., to vie for the league’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Single- and All-Session tickets to see The Big West in the Las Vegas Valley are available now! BigWest.org/26bkbtix.
Hoops in Henderson - Here to Stay
On March 2, The Big West announced a multi-year extension of its partnership with Lee’s Family Forum, securing the venue as the home of the Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships through March 2030, reinforcing the conference’s strong commitment to the Las Vegas/Henderson region and to delivering a premier championship experience for student-athletes and fans alike. Read more >>>
Last Week, Today
Four teams took home a pair of wins in the penultimate week of the regular season as UC San Diego, Hawai’i, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State earned crucial victories with two others splitting their week as all postseason bound teams vie for positioning. Some notable highlights include:
UC San Diego (20-7, 15-2 BW)
Reaching the 20-win mark, the Tritons claimed road victories at Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield to and find themselves knotted at the top of the table heading into the final week of the regular season. The defending Big West champions got yet another standout week from senior guard Makayla Rose, who averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game with team-high scoring efforts in both outings. Rose is now two steals away from setting the Tritons’ single season D-I record (90)
Hawai’i (18-10, 12-6 BW)
The preseason favorite Rainbow Wahine keep peaking at the right time, extending the streak to six after downing UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton at home by wide margins. Hawai’i held both foes under 50 points scoring. Senior Saniyah Neverson averaged 13.1 points per game on 61.1 percent shooting, including a 5-for-7 mark from distance. UH is in a tie for fourth in the standings heading into the finale week on the mainland before heading to Henderson.
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UC Santa Barbara (20-8, 12-7 BW)
The Gauchos nabbed a pair of wins over postseason-bound foes with senior Skylar Burke leading the way. Burke secured the double-double with 15 points and 12 boards at UCR before reaching double figures with 11 points in Saturday’s home victory over league-leading UC Irvine. Burke was a combined 12-for-14 from the stripe on the week.
Long Beach State (5-23, 4-14 BW)
The Beach picked up consecutive victories for the first time of the season when it was most needed. Still in the hunt for the final position in the postseason, LBSU beat Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield, both by 10 points, with the win over the Roadrunners coming in overtime fashion. Big West Player of the Week JaQuoia Jones-Brown averaged 26.5 points on 50 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. LBSU must at least split their week and keep an eye on CSUN’s schedule to keep their dreams of Henderson alive.
UC Irvine (24-5, 15-3 BW)
The Anteaters extended their streak to seven before falling on the road to UC Santa Barbara in the split week. Senior Hunter Hernandez scored a team-high 18 points with five rebounds and four assists on senior night at the Bren in a win over CSUN before dropping in 26 points at UCSB, 24 of which came in the second half and 16 in the fourth quarter alone. UCI trailed by as many as 20 in the game before making it a one-possession game with just over a minute to go powered by Hernandez’ late-game hustle.
UC Riverside (10-19, 8-11 BW)
The Highlanders saw a split week with a three-point home loss against UC Santa Barbara before securing victory at CSUN. Sophomore Kaylani Polk scored in double figures in both contests, shooting 57 percent from the floor. The Big West’s leading scorer Hannah Wickstrom continues to pace the offense, scoring 24 against the Matadors with a game-high 12 rebounds.
League Look-Around - 2025-26 Moments & Milestones
• UC Irvine set a school record with a 16-game winning streak that spanned over two months of competition before a narrow loss against UC San Diego on Jan. 24 to stop the string and hand the Anteaters their first home loss of the season.
• Cal State Fullerton surpassed the 10-win league mark for the first time since the 1990-91 season when the team went 14-4 in conference play and 25-8 overall. The Titans are guaranteed at least a .500 mark in Big West play for just the third time in the last two decades (2006-07, ’19-20).
Non-Conference Notables
• UC Davis set a program attendance record in their home win against Idaho, with 5,567 fans on hand.
• Cal State Fullerton broke a 34-year-old program scoring record on Dec. 28, downing La Sierra 110-22 to best the previous high point tally (108) set on March 7 1991.
• Cal State Bakersfield’s 85 points scored in a win over Eastern Washington on Dec. 20 stands as the most points against a Division I opponent since the 2018-19 season.
• Title winners! UC Irvine won the Great Alaska Shootout with victories over Bowling Green and St. Thomas Nov. 21-22, with Jada Wynn named most outstanding player. Hawai’i took home the crown at the Bank of Hawai’i Classic on Nov. 21-23 as Ritorya Tamilo earned MVP honors. UC Santa Barbara took home the hardware at the CBU Invitational with wins over the host Lancers and Chattanooga over Thanksgiving week.
Welcome to The Big West
New head coach at Cal State Fullerton John Bonner heads to the Titans after a Division II national runner-up season with Cal State Dominguez Hills. Bonner boasts the only two 30-win seasons in Toreros’ program history including a record 36 victories in 2024-25 and was twice named CCAA Coach of the Year.
Watch Us Work
Building on one of the most successful men’s and women’s seasons since the 1990’s, The Big West has announced that more than 350 men’s and women’s basketball games will be available nationally on the ESPN family of networks and Spectrum SportsNet during 2025-26 season. All Big West men’s and women’s basketball home games and all seven games of the 2026 Credit Union I Big West Women’s Basketball Championship will stream nationally on ESPN+. Additionally, The Big West will continue its regional partnership with Spectrum SportsNet for the fifth consecutive season. Five women’s contests are part of the 14-game Spectrum SportsNet package with Long Beach State, UC San Diego, Hawai’i, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly each slated to appear. Learn more >>>
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GET TOUGH!
Continuing the annual fundraising initiative in The Big West, 2025-26’s Tough Like Tammy campaign has a goal of securing a $50,000 grant from the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to assist women in underserved communities in southern California.
Currently, the joint venture between Big West women’s basketball, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Big West women’s basketball analyst Tammy Blackburn stands nearly 96% of the way towards reaching the goal, with $23,969 raised of $25,000.
Fans can also support their favorite team with official Tough Like Tammy gear. A portion of the proceeds benefits the cause. For team branded merchandise, click here >>>
Additionally, parking is free for all four days of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Basketball Championships, and in lieu of a parking fee fans are encouraged to donate in any amount to Tough Like Tammy at BigWest.org/TLT. |